Should I go for H1B for next year?

[fromdips82]

Hello,

This is my first post in this forum.

I was in US in 2 phases both time in L1B visa.

1. Between June 2006 and December 2006(6 months)

2. Between April 2010 and November 2012(2 years 8 months)

My company had applied for my L1B extension this year but the L1B extension petition got denied by USCIS and therefore I had to come back India on November 30th this year. My company didn't disclose the reason of petition rejection and they said they have full rights not to disclose the reason to me.

I want to go again US and this time I want to go in H1B visa as I do not want to take a chance with L1B anymore. My company has selected me already as one fo the candidates for whom they should apply for H1B for the year 2013. My company has H1B quota from USCIS and a very popular and branded IT company in the world. However my company has also warned me that there is a very high chance my H1B visa for the year 2013 may get rejected due to the following 2 reasons.

1. My L1B petition was denied in November 2012. So this will go against me when my H1B petition gets processed during middle of 2013.

2. I have already stayed in US total 3.2 years in L1B so they will not like me to come in US again as outsourcing issue is going on for IT/Sofware enginners in USA

--can you tell me how valid the above 2 points are for my H1B rejection that my company is saying? Can my H1B visa for 2013 really may get rejected for the above 2 reasons or my company is probably guessing and the above reasons are not so valid? Hearing the 2 reasons of possible H1B rejections I am wondering if I should withdraw my name from H1B visa application next year and rather apply in 2014 to be in the safe side. Can you please advise?

Also I am not 100% sure about the 6 year rule of stay. If I go for H1B in 2013 and my visa gets approved how many years of H1B I will get?

1. Is it going to be 3 years?

2. Is it going to be 2 years only since I have stayed in L1B for 3.2 years and between 30th November 2012 and 1st October 2013 is leas than 1 year I am staying outside US? If they assign my visa only for 2 years considering I am falling in 6 years rule then does it mean I have to mandatorily come out of US after 1st October 2015 or I can go for an H1B extension in 2015?

[raghvi]

Hello,

This is my first post in this forum.

I was in US in 2 phases both time in L1B visa.

1. Between June 2006 and December 2006(6 months)

2. Between April 2010 and November 2012(2 years 8 months)

My company had applied for my L1B extension this year but the L1B extension petition got denied by USCIS and therefore I had to come back India on November 30th this year. My company didn't disclose the reason of petition rejection and they said they have full rights not to disclose the reason to me.

I want to go again US and this time I want to go in H1B visa as I do not want to take a chance with L1B anymore. My company has selected me already as one fo the candidates for whom they should apply for H1B for the year 2013. My company has H1B quota from USCIS and a very popular and branded IT company in the world. However my company has also warned me that there is a very high chance my H1B visa for the year 2013 may get rejected due to the following 2 reasons.

1. My L1B petition was denied in November 2012. So this will go against me when my H1B petition gets processed during middle of 2013.

2. I have already stayed in US total 3.2 years in L1B so they will not like me to come in US again as outsourcing issue is going on for IT/Sofware enginners in USA

--can you tell me how valid the above 2 points are for my H1B rejection that my company is saying? Can my H1B visa for 2013 really may get rejected for the above 2 reasons or my company is probably guessing and the above reasons are not so valid? Hearing the 2 reasons of possible H1B rejections I am wondering if I should withdraw my name from H1B visa application next year and rather apply in 2014 to be in the safe side. Can you please advise?

Also I am not 100% sure about the 6 year rule of stay. If I go for H1B in 2013 and my visa gets approved how many years of H1B I will get?

1. Is it going to be 3 years?

2. Is it going to be 2 years only since I have stayed in L1B for 3.2 years and between 30th November 2012 and 1st October 2013 is leas than 1 year I am staying outside US? If they assign my visa only for 2 years considering I am falling in 6 years rule then does it mean I have to mandatorily come out of US after 1st October 2015 or I can go for an H1B extension in 2015?

First of all both the reasons being cited by the representatives of your so called "very popular and branded IT company" seem preposterous. If they are incapable of getting genuine work and projects with proper client letters for you then its their internal problem not USCIS's.

With that said, in your current scenario you would in most likelihood get only 2.5 Years or less as you have already spent 3+ Years in U.S. in last 6 Years and to be eligible for another 6 Years of H1B you should spend 1 FULL year outside US at the time of application of the H1B petition.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[adnaanusa]

First of all both the reasons being cited by the representatives of your so called "very popular and branded IT company" seem preposterous. If they are incapable of getting genuine work and projects with proper client letters for you then its their internal problem not USCIS's.

With that said, in your current scenario you would in most likelihood get only 2.5 Years or less as you have already spent 3+ Years in U.S. in last 6 Years and to be eligible for another 6 Years of H1B you should spend 1 FULL year outside US at the time of application of the H1B petition.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

i have a question..un related to current post...does the 6 year count comes into picture even if someone was on f1 visa and then got h1 b visa...or f1 stay period and h1 b stay period are considered differently...if someone was staying in US continuously as soon as f1 status ended..and h1 status started...

[fromdips82]

@adna****a

thx for your opinion...I am thinking about going for H1B visa in 2014 so that I have full 6 years in that case

[fromdips82]

One more related question on this...if I go for H1B in 2013 and I get H1B only for 2 years then I understand I have to mandatorily leave US after 2 years in US. However after going US in H1B in 2013 if my company applies for my green card then does the green card application overrules the 6 year policy? I mean if company applies for green card then I do not need to come back after 2 years until I get the green card decision correct?

[raghvi]

To, adna****a. Stay only in H1 or L1 status, or a combination of these two is counted towards the 6 Year limit. In future, I would request yo to please start a new thread if you have any questions/queries/opinions.

To, fromdips82. Green Card is a separate process in itself. There are host of resources available at http://www.immihelp.com/greencard/

For H1B beyond 6 Years, please go through : https://www.immihelp.com/h1-visa-ext...-years-in-usa/

But to answer your query in short, yes it is quite possible that if your company initiates your Green Card in 2013, and if the 140, labor is filed at appropriate time then you can be eligible for getting H1B extension beyond 6 Years too.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[fromdips82]

Another related question.

What I understand that I will be getting max 2.8 years of H1B visa and mandatorily I have to stay 1 year out of US unless my employer starts processing my green card. But if I appear for my H1B visa interview in January 2014 and travel in January 2014 then basically I am staying total 13 months out of US. Does it mean my H1B 6 years clock will be reset and I don't need to stay out of US for 1 year? Or since my petition starts from October 1st 2013 USCIS will consider that as my H1B start date not the visa stamping date (Jan 2014) as my start date and my clock will not be reset?

[kabkaba]

In that case the petition will have to be filed with a start date of Jan 2014. The petition will be subject to cap and can only be filed 6 months in advance (Jun 2013), but the cap may not remain open until June.

[fromdips82]

Thanks kabkaba.

Any other expert opinion in this forum? Is there any other way I can reset my 6 year clock but file H1B for 2013? Appearing visa interview in January 2014 will not help?